The present invention relates to a hinge and particularly to a hinge allowing to be turned and anchored on selected angles.
The commonly used tables, racks or shelves are mostly designed for use in a fixed assembly manner. While such type of design may serve some practical purposes, it also creates many problems, notably:
1. When conventional fixed tables or racks are being carried or transported to where they are required, the door panels, table tops or racks have to be fixedly nailed and fastened for use. The finished and fixed tables or racks often occupy a large amount of space and are difficult to move and transport, and create a lot of storing inconveniences and incur additional handling time and costs.
2. The fixed tables and racks tend to get damages easily on table top surfaces or rack structures during moving and transportation.
3. Once the tables or racks are fixedly assembled, they have limited spaces for holding goods and are less flexible to use or deploy.
In view of aforesaid disadvantages, the primary object of the invention is to provide an improve hinge for achieving the following advantages:
1. The hinge of the invention provides a position anchoring function to enable a table or a storage rack or merchandise display shelf be extended for use or folded to a small space for storing depending on requirements. The hinge of the invention has a driving ratchet wheel coupling with an upper leaf and a lower leaf and a transmission means engaging with the driving ratchet wheel such that the upper leaf may be turned and a retainer may anchor the upper leaf on a selected angle (between 0 and 120 degrees). When the upper leaf is turned beyond the upper anchoring limit, a jutting key is moved to push and disengage the retainer to enable the upper leaf be moved in a folding condition.
2. The upper leaf of the hinge may be fastened to a table top, a storage rack or a merchandise shelf to extend or fold against the lower leaf. When the upper leaf is extended on a selected angle, the jutting keys on two ends of the ratchet wheel and the retainers in rotary elements located in driven ratchet wheels form a brake relationship to produce a secured anchoring so that the table top or storage rack may be extended and latched on a desired position for use.
3. Table tops, storage racks or merchandise shelves adopt the hinge of the invention can be extended at selected angles or folded to a small space for storing, thus have greater flexibility and wider applications.